Harris County Grand Jury Indicts ICE Agent in Aggravated Assault Case

Federal agents in Texas have faced increasing legal scrutiny over their conduct during recent deportation operations. On Friday, a grand jury in Harris County indicted Mario Alberto Morales, a 33-year-old Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, for his role in a collision that injured a civilian.

District Attorney Sean Teare announced that Morales was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The charge stems from surveillance footage released earlier in the month. Video shows a dark SUV pursuing two men who had jumped from a white truck. The vehicle strikes 48-year-old Miguel Parra-Hernandez, a construction worker, as he runs.

Parra-Hernandez remains in ICE custody at a rehabilitation center where he is recovering from severe leg injuries. The government alleges he is an undocumented immigrant. Teare stated that Morales was hired by ICE in August 2025 as a surge hire. According to Teare, Morales did not have a prior training record. The district attorney said no local law enforcement agency would have hired Morales based on his background, though he declined to specify the details of that history.

Morales has several professional titles, including former corrections officer, pastor, contracted law enforcement officer, and military veteran. He is also known by the nickname Bam. In March 2025, he announced a Republican bid for the 34th Congressional District. He dropped out of that race in August 2025, before the primary election held in March 2026.

ICE disputed the local prosecution in a statement to KHOU 11. The agency called the move a political stunt by Houston politicians. ICE stated that federal officers acting in their duties can only be investigated by other federal agencies. The agency also described allegations of intentional impact as reckless and false. It asserted that its officers are held to high standards of professionalism while removing dangerous criminals from communities.

This case follows another instance of federal agents facing charges in the state. In September, federal prosecutors charged ICE officer Christian Castro with assault and making false statements. Those charges related to the January 14 shooting of 24-year-old Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minneapolis. Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg after an alleged attack that Castro later said was a lie, leading to the charges being dropped.

The Trump administration has claimed since early 2026 that ICE agents have blanket immunity from state prosecution. Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller repeated this claim in January. Legal experts generally agreed that federal status does not exempt agents from state laws. The indictment of Morales tests that assertion in a Texas county court.